Accessing information using an instant messaging system

• US 7,287,057 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2001
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Stewart, Eben P., Lagarde, Konrad C., Rooney, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THUONG
• Application Number:
  US10/002,685
• Publication Number:
  US 20030093480A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,168 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/205, 709/206, 709/249, 709/207, 455/414
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

A system and method for transmitting messages from a client messaging application to a third party application is shown. The method includes registering with a set of client messaging applications for sending and receiving messages. A message includes an information request. A message is received from the one of the client messaging applications and the destination of the message is determined. The third party application determined to be the destination of the message is then selected and the message is transmitted to the third party application. In the event that the message included an information request, a return message is received from the third party application. The return message includes the requested information. The destination of the return message is determined. The client messaging application determined to be the destination of the return message is selected and the return message is transmitted to the client messaging application.

Claims

1. A system for transmitting messages from a client messaging application to an autonomous computer program that acts as an agent for another program, the system comprising:

a first interface mutually registered with at least one of a plurality of client messaging applications, the interface for performing the steps of;

receiving a message from the at least one of the plurality of client messaging applications, wherein the message includes a request to query at least one informational database for returning an information set back to client messaging application; and

translating a calling convention of the message to a calling convention of a base code;

a computer communicatively coupled to the first interface, the computer for performing the steps of;

determining, based on the request, a destination of the message, wherein the destination is an autonomous computer program that acts as an agent for a client-user for accessing the at least one informational database; and

selecting the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the message for accessing the informational database to retrieve the informational set; and

a second interface coupled to the computer, the second interface for performing the steps of;

translating, in response to the selecting, the message in the calling convention of the base code to a calling convention of the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the message;

transmitting, in response to the translating, the message to the autonomous computer program which has been determined to be the destination of the message without further user intervention;

receiving information from the autonomous computer program in a return message; and

translating a calling convention of the return message to the calling convention of the base code;

at the computer, further performing the step of;

determining the destination of the return message, wherein the destination is a client messaging application; and

at the first interface, further performing the steps of;

selecting the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message;

translating the calling convention of the message in the base code to the calling convention of the selected client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message; and

transmitting the message to the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first interface comprises:

An Application Programming Interface for interfacing with a plurality of mutually registered client messaging applications and for registering with at least one of the plurality of client messaging applications.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second interface comprises:

an Application Programming Interface for translating the request for information to the autonomous computer program and for translating the return message to the computer.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the client messaging application comprises an instant messaging application for sending and receiving instant messages.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the instant messaging application comprises any one of:

Lotus Sametime Messaging;

America Online Instant Messenger;

MSN Messenger Service;

Yahoo Messenger;

ICQ;

Jabber Instant Messaging; and

a Telnet utility.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous computer program comprises a messaging server.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the messaging server comprises any one of:

an IBM MQSeries server;

a Microsoft Transaction server;

a Lotus Domino server; and

an LDAP utility.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous computer program retrieves the requested information from any one of:

a personal finance database;

a stock market database;

a personal contact database;

a web site;

an FTP site; and

a gopher site.

9. A system for transmitting messages from a client messaging application to a plurality of autonomous computer programs that act as agents for other programs, the system comprising:

a first interface connected to and mutually registered with a client messaging application, the client messaging application for performing the steps of;

receiving a message from the client messaging application via the interface, wherein the message includes a request to query at least one informational database for returning an information set back to client messaging application; and

translating a calling convention of the message to a calling convention of a base code;

a computer communicatively coupled to the first interface, the computer for performing the steps of;

determining, based on the request, a destination of the message, wherein the destination is one of a plurality of autonomous computer programs that act as agents for a client-user for accessing the at least one informational database; and

selecting the autonomous computer program from the plurality of autonomous computer programs determined to be the destination of the message for accessing the informational database to retrieve the informational set; and

a second interface connected to the computer, the second interface for performing the steps of;

translating, in response to the selecting, the message in the calling convention of the base code to a calling convention of the autonomous computer program;

transmitting, in response to the translating, the message to the autonomous computer program which has been determined to be the destination of the message;

receiving information from the autonomous computer program in a return message; and

translating a calling convention of the return message to the calling convention of the base code;

at the computer, further performing the step of;

determining the destination of the return message, wherein the destination is the client messaging application; and

at the first interface, further performing the steps of;

selecting the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message;

translating the message in the calling convention of the base code to the calling convention of the selected client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message; and

transmitting the message to the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the first interface comprises:

an Application Programming Interface for interfacing with the client messaging application and for registering with the plurality of client messaging application.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the second interface comprises:

an Application Programming Interface for translating the request for information to the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the message and for translating the return message to the computer.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the client messaging application comprises an instant messaging application for sending and receiving instant messages.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the instant messaging application comprises any one of:

Lotus Sametime Messaging;

America Online Instant Messenger;

MSN Messenger Service;

Yahoo Messenger;

ICQ;

Jabber Instant Messaging; and

a Telnet utility.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of autonomous computer programs comprise a messaging server.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the messaging server comprises any one of:

an IBM MQSeries server;

a Microsoft Transaction server;

a Lotus Domino server; and

an LDAP utility.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of autonomous computer programs retrieve the requested information from any one of:

a personal finance database;

a stock market database;

a personal contact database;

a web site;

an FTP site; and

a gopher site.

17. A system for transmitting messages from a plurality of client messaging applications to a plurality of autonomous computer programs that act as an agent for other programs, the system comprising:

a first interface mutually registered with at least one of a plurality of client messaging applications, the first interface for performing the steps of;

receiving a message from the at least one of the plurality of client messaging applications, wherein the message includes a request to guery at least one informational database for returning an information set back to client messaging application; and

translating a calling convention of the message to a calling convention of a base code;

a computer communicatively coupled to the first interface, the computer for performing the steps of;

determining, based on the request, a destination of the message, wherein the destination is one of a plurality of autonomous computer programs that act as an agent for a client-user for accessing the at least one informational database; and

selecting one of a plurality of autonomous computer programs determined to be the destination of the message for accessing the informational database to retrieve the informational set; and

a second interface coupled to the computer, the second interface for performing the steps of;

translating, in response to the selecting, the message in the calling convention of the base code to a calling convention of the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the message;

transmitting, in response to the translating, the message to the autonomous computer program which has been determined to be the destination of the message without user intervention;

receiving information from the autonomous computer program in a return message; and

translating a calling convention of the return message to the calling convention of the base code;

at the computer, further performing the steps of;

determining the destination of the return message, wherein the destination is one of a plurality of client messaging applications; and

selecting the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message; and

at the first interface, further performing the steps of;

translating the message in the calling convention of the base code to the calling convention of the selected client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message; and

transmitting the message to the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first interface comprises:

an Application Programming Interface for interfacing with a plurality of mutually registered client messaging applications and for registering with at least one of the plurality of client messaging applications.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the second interface comprises:

an Application Programming Interface for translating the request for information to the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the message and for translating the return message to the computer.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of client messaging applications comprise an instant messaging application for sending and receiving instant messages.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the instant messaging application comprises any one of:

Lotus Sametime Messaging;

America Online Instant Messenger;

MSN Messenger Service;

Yahoo Messenger;

ICQ;

Jabber Instant Messaging; and

a Telnet utility.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of autonomous computer programs comprise a messaging server.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the messaging server comprises any one of:

an IBM MQSeries server;

a Microsoft Transaction server;

a Lotus Domino server; and

an LDAP utility.

24. The system of claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of autonomous computer programs retrieve the requested information from any one of:

a personal finance database;

a stock market database;

a personal contact database;

a web site;

an FTP site; and

a gopher site.

25. A method for transmitting messages from a client messaging application to an autonomous computer program that acts as an agent for another program, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a message from one of a plurality of client messaging applications, wherein the message includes a request to query at least one informational database for returning an information set back to client messaging application;

translating a calling convention of the message to a calling convention of a base code;

determining, based on the request a destination of the message, wherein the destination is an autonomous computer program that acts as an agent for a client-user for accessing the at least one informational database;

selecting the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the message for accessing the informational database to retrieve the informational set;

translating, in response to the selecting, the message in the calling convention of the base code to a calling convention of the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the message;

transmitting, in response to the translating, the message to the autonomous computer program which has been determined to be the destination of the message without user intervention;

receiving information from the autonomous computer program in a return message;

translating a calling convention of the return message to the calling convention of the base code;

determining the destination of the return message, wherein the destination is one of a plurality of client messaging applications;

selecting the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message;

translating the message in the calling convention of the base code to the calling convention of the selected client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message; and

transmitting the message to the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the first receiving step comprises:

receiving, via an Application Programming Interface, a message from one of a plurality of client messaging applications, wherein the Application Programming Interface interfaces with the plurality of mutually registered client messaging applications and registers with at least one of the plurality of client messaging applications.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the translation is performed by an Application Programming Interface.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising a step before the second transmitting step of:

translating, by the Application Programming Interface, the return message to the client messaging application.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein each of the plurality of client messaging applications comprise an instant messaging application for sending and receiving instant messages.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the instant messaging application comprises any one of:

Lotus Sametime Messaging;

America Online Instant Messenger;

MSN Messenger Service;

Yahoo Messenger;

ICQ;

Jabber Instant Messaging; and

a Telnet utility.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein the autonomous computer program comprises a messaging server.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the messaging server comprises any one of:

an IBM MQSeries server;

a Microsoft Transaction server;

a Lotus Domino server; and

an LDAP utility.

33. The method of claim 25, wherein the autonomous computer program retrieves the requested information from any one of:

a personal finance database;

a stock market database;

a personal contact database;

a web site;

an FTP site; and

a gopher site.

34. A computer readable storage medium embedded computer instructions for transmitting messages from a plurality of client messaging applications to an autonomous computer program that acts as an agent for another program, the computer instructions comprising instructions for:

receiving a message from one of a plurality of client messaging applications, wherein the message includes a request to query at least one informational database for returning an information set back to client messaging application;

translating a calling convention of the message to a calling convention of a base code;

determining, based on the request, a destination of the message, wherein the destination is a an autonomous computer program that acts as an agent for a client-user for accessing the at least one informational database;

selecting the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the message for accessing the informational database to retrieve the informational set;

translating, in response to the selecting, the message in the calling convention of the base code to a calling convention of the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the message;

transmitting, in response to the translating, the message to the autonomous computer program which has been determined to be the destination of the message without user intervention

receiving information from the autonomous computer program in a return message;

translating a calling convention of the return message to the calling convention of the base code;

determining a destination of the return message, wherein the destination is one of the plurality of client messaging applications;

selecting the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message; and

transmitting the message to the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message.

35. The computer readable medium of claim 34, further comprising the instruction of:

translating the base code calling convention of the return message to the calling convention of the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message.

36. The computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein the first receiving step comprises:

receiving, via an Application Programming Interface, a message from one of a plurality of client messaging applications, wherein the Application Programming Interface interfaces with the plurality of mutually registered client messaging applications and registers with at least one of the plurality of client messaging applications.

37. The computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein the translation is performed by an Application Programming Interface.

38. The computer readable medium of claim 37, further comprising a step before the second transmitting step of:

translating, by the Application Programming Interface, the base code calling convention of the return message to the calling convention of the client messaging application determined to be the destination of the message.

39. The computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein the client messaging application comprises an instant messaging application for sending and receiving instant messages.

40. The computer readable medium of claim 39, wherein the instant messaging application comprises any one of:

Lotus Sametime Messaging;

America Online Instant Messenger;

MSN Messenger Service;

Yahoo Messenger;

ICQ;

Jabber Instant Messaging; and

a Telnet utility.

41. The computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein the autonomous computer program comprises a messaging server.

42. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the messaging server comprises any one of:

an IBM MQSeries server;

a Microsoft Transaction server;

a Lotus Domino server; and

an LDAP utility.

43. The computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein the autonomous computer program retrieves the requested information from any one of:

a personal finance database;

a stock market database;

a personal contact database;

a web site;

an FTP site; and

a gopher site.

44. A method for providing access to an autonomous computer program that acts as an agent for another program via an instant messaging application, comprising the steps of:

receiving from at least one instant messaging application an instant message including a request to query at least one informational database for returning an information set back to client messaging application;

translating a calling convention of the instant message to a calling convention of a base code;

determining, based on the request, a destination of the instant message, wherein the destination is an autonomous computer program that acts as an agent for a client-user for accessing the at least one informational database;

selecting the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the message for accessing the informational database to retrieve the informational set;

translating, in response to the selecting, the base code calling convention of the request for information in the instant message into a calling convention compatible with the autonomous computer program determined to be the destination of the instant message;

transmitting, in response to the translating, the translated request for information to the autonomous computer program, wherein the autonomous computer program processes the translated request for information, without user intervention;

receiving information from the autonomous computer program;

generating an instant message including the received information; and

sending the generated instant message to the instant messaging application.